With only 140 characters to compose your Tweet, you have to have the minimalist’s mindset. But if you need to include a URL, then you may not be able to even describe the link. So the answer is to use one of many services that will shorten your URL, like Bit.ly, Tr.im, Twurl.nl, or Tinyurl.
These services are easy to use. All you have to do is go the site URL shortener site of your choice and enter the URL you want shortened. You’ll get a URL that is significantly shorter than the original, plus depending on the site, a whole lot more.
Now most require that you register an account, which is free, some, like TinyUrl don’t require accounts. But there are advantages to registering so that you can have integration with your Twitter account. The Twitter integration is Key, but so are the tracking services they offer.
I like Bit.ly because it has excellent tracking and statistics features that track who clicks your shortened URL, but it also integrates seamlessly with Tweetie, the preferred iPhone client of the ZenTweeter! See the review of Twitter Apps on the iPhone.